Low power digital audio decoding/playing system for computing devices

ABSTRACT

A low-power digital audio decoding and playing system and method for computing devices provides a low-cost, low power-consumption, long-battery-life audio playing and decoding system, which may be used to play compressed audio files of various formats. A software only solution for such a system is provided.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/969,060, filed on Oct. 2, 2001 entitled “Low Power Digital Audio Decoding/Playing System for Computing Devices,” which itself is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/921,171 filed on Aug. 2, 2001 entitled “Low Power Digital Audio Decoding/Playing System for Computing Devices,” which claims the benefit of provisional application Ser. No. 60/250,899, filed on Dec. 1, 2000, entitled “Low Power Digital Audio Decoding System for Computing Devices” and provisional application Ser. No. 60/265,466, filed on Jan. 30, 2001, entitled “Low Power Digital Audio Decoding/Play System for Computing Machines.”

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to portable devices (e.g., notebook computers) for reproducing audio recordings, and more particularly, to low-power hardware and/or software for decoding and reproducing compressed audio recordings in a variety of compression formats from a variety of sources. While particular utility for the present application is in the reproduction of MP3 digital audio files, especially for use with portable computers, other utilities are contemplated herein.

2. Description of Related Art

Presently there exist various portable devices for replaying digital audio recordings that have been compressed in accordance with one or more compressed audio digital recording formats, e.g., MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) Audio Layer-3 (MP3), Windows® Media Audio (WMA), and Advanced Audio Coding (AAC). To date, the most popular format has been MP3, a compression scheme that results in about a 10:1 compression of the size of digital music files. These devices can be divided into two classes, those which store the compressed digital audio recordings in an electronic solid-state memory, and those which record the compressed digital audio for subsequent reproduction using an electromechanical device such as a compact disk (“CD”) player or on a hard disk drive of a digital computer.

For example, portable devices for playing MP3 compressed digital audio recordings that use electronic solid-state memory, e.g., flash-memory, are capable of storing about ten (10) music selections. With an add-in memory card, such devices can carry a total of about twenty (20) music selections. These MP3 players that store the MP3 compressed digital audio recordings in an electronic solid-state memory consume comparatively little electrical power. Thus, such MP3 players provide an extended playing interval without having to power the computer's CD-ROM or hard disk drive.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,226,237, entitled “Low Power CD-ROM Player for Portable Computers”, issued May 1, 2001 (the “'237” patent), which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, describes how a conventional notebook computer, when simply playing a conventional music CD, consumes an unnecessarily large amount of electrical energy. That is largely due to the large number of background functions that are unrelated to the playing of music that the Operating System (e.g., Windows®) is performing whenever the computer is turned on. That excessive electrical energy consumption for functions unrelated to the function the user is performing at the moment, i.e., playing music, quickly drains the battery of a notebook computer of power that could more prudently be applied at another time in performance of microprocessor intensive tasks such as word processing and spreadsheet analysis. The solution presented in the '237 patent is a state machine that operates when main power to the portable device is OFF. The invention of the '237 patent couples a CD-ROM to the audio subsystem (when main power is OFF) so that CDs can be played, without excessive battery drain, or without having to boot up the portable computer.

The prior art also includes silicon solutions that are dedicated function integrated circuits (ICs) or incorporated into application-specific integrated circuits, or ASICs. These are usually expensive solutions as the digital signal processor (DSP) required in a dedicated chip results in a large, costly integrated circuit. One of the results is the use of a larger amount of PCB (printed circuit board) space.

Further, the 15 to 20 MIPS (million instructions per second) decode engine known in the art must be continuously running to generate the audio stream for the Codec. Additionally, the dedicated decode engine needs to have the high-power-consuming hard disk drive (HDD) continuously operating. These approaches are limited to functioning only with MP3 compression, thereby eliminating the opportunity to adapt the system to newly emerging music compression algorithms, such as Microsoft's WMA or the music industry's proposed Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI) for secure audio.

Dedicated silicon solutions known in the art employ a DSP that must constantly be decoding the compressed audio files from a hard disk drive, which must therefore be constantly reading the audio files. Such known methods require much power, resulting in a fast battery discharge, (e.g., much faster than the possible 4 to 10 hours of desired use on a transoceanic flight).

Thus, known hardware MP3 decoder and players requiring an IC implementation and a hard disk drive being accessed non-stop are high in power consumption, difficult to upgrade, and expensive.

The present invention provides a solution that is low in power consumption, can be upgraded in the field for various music compression formats, is expected to cost no more than half the cost of the currently available hardware implementation, and may be made capable of playing up to hundreds of musical selections, while only having to access the HDD or CD-ROM less than 0.5% of the time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A machine-readable medium whose contents cause a computer system to perform a method of playing audio files, wherein the method consistent with the invention includes: reading compressed audio data; providing the compressed audio data to a processor of the computer system for decompressing the audio data, thereby providing decompressed audio data; and storing the decompressed data in a memory of the computer system.

The computer system may have a processor which is capable of operation in a first power state and a second power state, wherein the processor consumes less power in the first power state than the second power state, and wherein a method consistent with the invention further includes placing the processor in the first power state from the second power state when the processor is not decompressing the compressed audio data.

A personal computer (PC) adapted to function as a decompressed audio player consistent with the invention includes: a central processing unit (CPU) responsive to a control signal to load a first operating system or a second operating system, wherein the first operating system is run by the PC in a first PC mode and the second operating system is run by the PC in a second compressed audio mode.

Another method of operating a personal computer (PC) in either a first personal computer (PC) mode or a second compressed audio performance mode consistent with the invention includes the steps of: initiating a control signal; and loading a first or second operating system based on the control signal, wherein the first operating system operates the PC is the first PC mode and the second operating system operates the PC in the second compressed audio performance mode.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram representation an exemplary operational flow of one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of an exemplary power up of the mini-OS and initiation of the player function, in one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary audio player system consistent with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the internal portion of an exemplary special purpose circuit, in relation to the other components that interface with it, in one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is another block diagram of an exemplary audio player system consistent with another embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is another block diagram of an exemplary audio player system consistent with another embodiment of the invention which utilizes software only for audio decoding and playing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

In one embodiment, a computer system consistent with the invention includes a mini-OS (operating system) software and a hardware interface (special purpose circuit) between the South Bridge and Codec to play the musical selections (or other stored audio) desired by the user. In another embodiment, no hardware is needed as the computer system employs a software only solution.

The mini-OS software of the present invention performs only those functions and enables those elements of the portable computer that are needed, when they are needed, to play the selected music, without performing all of the background functions performed by the full system operating system, e.g., Windows®, and without accessing the monitor circuitry and monitor screen of the portable computer. Additionally, the mini-OS of the present invention only accesses the HDD when compressed files are being transferred to RAM. Thus, it will be seen that the mini-OS software portion of the present invention performs both power saving and file management functions when playing audio.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram representation of the operational flow of the exemplary software compressed audio player in one embodiment of the present invention.

The operational concept illustrated in FIG. 1 is as follows:

-   -   1^(st): A browser, running on a full system operating system,         e.g., Windows®, of the portable computer is initially used to         download compressed music files (for example 1000 songs) onto         the PC hard disk drive (HDD) (2) (e.g., using 4 gigabytes of HDD         space) at some time prior to the time at which the user desires         to use the portable computer as an audio player and a playlist         is created, comprising the songs the user desires to hear at a         later time;     -   2^(nd): When the user desires to use the portable computer as an         audio player, once the desired music files are on the HDD, the         user operates an audio player on-switch to turn the portable         computer fully on, boot up the entire computer, load in the         mini-OS of the present invention instead of the usual Microsoft         Windows® OS (the full system operating system is not opened)         with the power saving initialization subroutines and initializes         only those portions of the portable computer as necessary, and         the file management subroutines initialize the song play list or         book generated in step 1, of a substantial number of songs, for         desired music listening under direction of the user;     -   3^(rd): The mini-OS software is then copied from the HDD (2) to         RAM (4), and then the first set of compressed files from the         song play list is copied from the HDD (2) to the system RAM (4)         also using the mini-OS software of the present invention. For         example, in today's PC's 128 Mbytes is a typical system RAM         size, with the mini-OS software of the present invention taking         about 8 Mbytes of the RAM, leaving approximately 120 Mbytes for         use as a compressed music memory (i.e., a cache or buffer, using         system memory, dedicated memory, or other memory). That 120         Mbytes represents about 2 hours of continuous compressed music         with a compression ration of 10:1, typical of MP3 files.         Similarly, in the case when flash media is used for MP3 storage,         all or most of the contents of the flash media card can be         copied to the system RAM (4), thus minimizing the access of the         flash media reader and allowing for a more responsive control         over the MP3 files;     -   4^(th): The file management software of the present invention         sequentially delivers portions of the first music file to the         CPU (6) where the decode algorithm decompresses each file using         the file management software of the present invention stored in         RAM (4). Once decoded, the PCM audio data is transferred in one         of three ways: the CPU delivers the PCM audio data to the South         Bridge (see FIG. 3 (32)) FIFO buffer; the DMA in the South         Bridge transfers the data internally within the South Bridge to         the FIFO buffer; or the special purpose circuit transfers the         data to the FIFO buffer from the LPC interface. The FIFO buffer         then sequentially feeds each piece of decoded music to Codec (8)         (also see FIG. 3 (42)), through the special purpose circuit of         the present invention, where the decoded signal is converted         from digital to analog. Then the output signal from the Codec         (8) is amplified (10) (also see FIG. 3 (44)) to drive the         speakers and/or headset (see FIG. 3 (46)).     -   5^(th): While the final song of the first set from the play list         is playing from memory, the file management software of the         present invention stored in the RAM (4, 30) returns control to         the 4^(th) step to retrieve the next set of compressed music         files from the memory of the RAM, as determined by the earlier         scripted song play list developed in the 1^(st) step. Thus, the         4^(th) and 5^(th) steps are repeated for each set of compressed         music files until the last music selection in the set plays. At         that point in time control returns to the 3^(rd) step to load         another set from the play list, which is similarly played         through the 4^(th) and 5^(th) steps. When the last song is         played from the overall play list of the 2^(nd) step, or when         the user turns off the music player function, the operation of         the player ceases.

The mini-OS power saving software of the present invention ensures that the CPU, Peripheral Chips, HDD and other controllable system elements will be in idle state for the highest percentage time possible. An interesting attribute of the solution offered by the present invention is that the higher the MIPS (Million Instructions Per Second) capacity of the CPU, the smaller percentage of time the CPU will spend performing the decode function. This means that higher performance CPU's will demonstrate even lower power usage when playing compressed music performances, thus saving even more battery power and further extending the length of time that the battery maintains sufficient charge to power the portable computer.

The mini-OS monitors the audio control buttons (e.g., play, fast forward, rewind, pause, scan, previous track, next track, first track, last track, fast forward/rewind while listening, audio source/media select (e.g., HDD or CD), etc.) (see FIG. 3 (48)) for user actuation through the special purpose circuit (see FIG. 3 (40)) of the present invention, and communicates user requests to the mini-OS file management software of the present invention. Optionally, a small LCD display (see FIG. 3 (34)) can be connected to the special purpose circuit to provide visual status indicators (e.g., Song #, Song titles, track #, Playtime & icons) under control of the mini-OS display management subroutines.

The mini-OS power saving software of the present invention primarily manages the usage of the CPU, and the MP3 storage devices such as CD, HDD, and flash media such as SD (Secure Digital) cards, MMC (Multimedia Card), memory stick, and SMC (Smart Media Card), while maintaining the rest of the system, including the memory, corelogic chipsets, in a fully on and functional state. Secondary power saving is applied to other PC subsystems to minimize power usage still further by putting them in an idle state.

For example, with a 500 MHz Pentium III CPU having about 225 MIPS of processing power and the decode algorithm requiring about 15 MIPS, the CPU will be operating less than 10% of the time. The other 90-95% of the time the CPU will be in a standby mode that requires only milliamps of current. Alternatively, the CPU can be run at a slower clock speed, which is usually an option provided by most of today CPUs, such as the AMD's Athlon CPU. Similarly the HDD is accessed during the time it takes to fill or refill the RAM. Thus, since the average song takes about 4 minutes to play and the RAM holds about 30 songs for 120 Mbytes, and since the HDD needs 1-5 seconds to spin up and only several seconds to load the song play list into RAM, the total access time for the HDD may be 30 seconds out of 120 minutes of play time; a ratio of 1:240, less than 0.5% of full power operating time. These factors add to the power savings gained by using the mini-OS of the present invention instead of the full operating system of the portable computer. The result of the overall power consumption of the present invention is very low when the portable computer is in the music play mode, and that directly translates into the battery maintaining a useful charge level for a much longer time than allowed by the prior art. As those skilled in the art will recognize, the compressed music data of this invention may reside on a hard disk, on other magnetic (e.g., tape) media, optical (e.g., CD-ROM) media, flash media (e.g., SD cards, MMC, memory stick, SMC), or any other storage medium.

FIG. 3 is a generalized overall block diagram of an exemplary system 31 consistent with one embodiment of the present invention. The majority of the blocks in system 31 are components known in the art and are generally included in all PC computers for producing sound through the speaker of the computer. Shown here is a system clock 56, which, for simplicity of FIG. 3, is not shown connected to the various components that need a clock signal. Additionally, CPU 26 is shown interfacing with North Bridge 28. In turn, North Bridge 28 interfaces with system RAM 30 and South Bridge 32. Then South Bridge 32 interfaces with HDD 36 and CD-ROM 38. Typically South Bridge 32 also interfaces directly with Codec 42 through AC_link; however, in the exemplary system 31 shown, special purpose circuit 40 (see discussion of FIG. 4 below) is inserted between South Bridge 32 and Codec 42 to enable the playing of compressed digital audio in conjunction with the mini-OS 80 of the present invention from system RAM 30, without affecting the ability to play non-compressed analog audio. In this configuration, the mini-OS 80 is stored in the BIOS, although those skilled in the art will recognize that the mini-OS could alternatively be stored in its own ROM (either within special purpose circuit 40 or external to it), a hard disk, or other media. Thus, AC_link₁ from South Bridge 32 is coupled to special purpose circuit 40, which performs the decompression function as necessary, and then provides any audio signals to Codec 42 via AC_link₂. Codec 42 then performs the usual function on all signals received from special purpose circuit 40 and applies the audio signals to amplifier 44, to be played on speaker 46 or headphones (not shown). In system 31, AC_link₁ looks and behaves like the standard AC_link to South Bridge 32, and AC_link₂ looks and behaves like the standard AC_link to Codec 42, making it appear to those portions of the computer that audio functions are being performed as during normal (i.e., known in the art) audio play, thus having minimal or no impact on the operation of South Bridge 32 and Codec 42. Also shown in FIG. 3 are function switches 48, small LCD display 34 and audio player power switch 54, which function as described hereinbelow with reference to FIG. 4.

FIG. 4 includes a detailed block diagram of the internals of special purpose circuit 40 and related details of the other portions of the computer that the special purpose circuit interfaces without showing all of the details of the rest of the computer system. Special purpose circuit 40 may be produced as an IC to minimize the PCB space needed to incorporate embodiments of the present invention into portable computers. South Bridge 32 is shown with the standard AC97 controller 50 and LPC (low pin count) controller 52 to the left of special purpose circuit 40 with the standard bidirectional links AC_link₁ and LPC Bus between them, and the unidirectional IRQ (Interrupt Request) link from special purpose circuit 40 to South Bridge 32. To the right, special purpose circuit 40 provides uncompressed audio to AC97 Codec 42 via AC_link₂. Also, to the right, function keys 48, and below LCD 34, are each shown connected to special purpose circuit 40. Additionally, FIG. 4 includes system clock 56 connected to various components, and in the lower left, audio player power switch 54. Power switch 54 is provided so that when the user initiates the player mode via power switch 54, only the mini-OS (instead of the full system OS) is initiated, for use in a system consistent with the present invention.

Internal to special purpose circuit 40 are switches 60 that interface with both AC_link₁ and AC_link₂ and function in response to settings in an internal register of register block 66, with switches 60 closed connecting AC-link₁ with AC_link₂ when the PC functions normally with the full system OS, and with switches 60 open when a system consistent with the present invention is employed. The LPC path is coupled to LPC interface. Switches 60 and AC_link₂ are coupled to state machine 64, while another port of state machine 64 is coupled, via bus 74, to the output of LPC interface 62, as well as register block 66, function key interface 68 and LCD interface 72. A second port of register block 66 is also coupled to a third port of state machine 64. Function keys 48 are coupled to function key interface 68, and LCD 34 is coupled to LCD interface 72. Also, function key interface 68 provides a signal to register block 66 when one of the function keys 48 is selected by the user. Audio player power switch 54, which is operated by the user in the second step discussed above, may be used to activate the PC to operate as described hereinabove. Switch 54 is shown connected to the DC voltage source of the portable computer and not to any particular block in FIG. 4, since that connection varies depending on several factors controlled by the manufacturer of the computer on which an embodiment of the present invention is installed.

More specifically, the blocks within special purpose circuit 40 operate as follows:

LPC Interface

Special purpose circuit 40 includes LPC (Low Pin Count) interface 62 to interface with LPC controller 52 in South Bridge 32.

The LPC interface 62 is used to by CPU 26 to:

-   -   (1) read the function key input registers in register block 66;     -   (2) set the control register in register block 66 to control the         AC97 Codec 42;     -   (3) get the audio PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) data from the         system memory (RAM 30); and     -   (4) perform clock throttling control.

The setting in the mode register of register block 66 controls the state of switches 60 to switch the special purpose circuit 40 between the normal computer operation mode with switches 60 closed (e.g., running Microsoft Windows® OS) and the mode of a system consistent with the present invention, with switches 60 open (running the mini-OS) to play compressed audio files.

South Bridge AC97 Controller 50 Interface (AC Link₁ from Host)

During the normal computer operation mode, switches 60 are closed with the South Bridge AC97 Controller 50 interface connected directly through, closed switches 60, to AC97 Codec 42 to generate audio output as if special purpose circuit 40 were not present. To play compressed audio files, switches 60 are open when the mini-OS is running, and state machine 64 controls AC97 Codec 42.

AC97 Codec Interface (AC Link₂ to AC97 Codec 42)

When the computer is running under control of the mini-OS, switches 60 are open. State machine 64 then controls the AC_link₂ in response to the settings of the register block 66 set by the host (CPU 26) to generate the controls for AC97 Codec 42 (e.g., switching the sampling frequency, controlling volume, sending the PCM data to the Codec 42, setting the Codec 42 to the power saving mode or waking Codec 42 from the power saving mode).

Function Key Input Interface 68

Function key interface 68 receives the user selections from function keys 48 and stores the selections in internal registers to be read by CPU 26.

LCD interface 72

LCD interface 72 is only necessary if LCD 34 is used to provide status information to the user. The purpose, when used, is to show player status on low cost LCD 34 when the system consistent with the present invention is used. Status of the audio track number of the selection playing, status icons (e.g., Play) and other generic status icons may be programmed into the system and displayed for any other purpose.

Operation Modes

(A) Normal Operation Mode:

When the PC is fully powered and running under the full system OS, the various functions of special purpose circuit 40 are bypassed and switches 60 are closed, as discussed above. In the normal mode, the computer system uses the South Bridge AC97 Controller 50 to directly control the AC97 Codec 42 through the AC_link (in the Normal mode AC_link₁ and AC_link₂ are the same since switches 60 are closed. The special purpose circuit does not intercept or modify the AC_link signals.

(B) Compressed Audio Performance Mode:

When switch 54 has been closed, the system runs under the control of mini-OS, and special purpose circuit 40 is empowered and runs in the compressed audio performance mode. The South Bridge AC97 Controller 50 is isolated from the AC97 Codec 42 in this mode since switches 60 are open.

In the compressed audio performance mode, the host (CPU 26) sets the internal registers of register block 66 to control the data flow to the AC97 Codec 42, and to perform the various power management functions.

A Power Saving Control Method in Compressed Audio Performance Mode

A flexible control method of the special purpose circuit 40 is provided to minimize the system control cycles and power consumption in the performance mode. The system memory (RAM 30) is used to pass most of the control commands to the special purpose circuit 40, instead of CPU 26, which minimizes the time that CPU 26 needs to access high speed external bus other than a standby level. This considerably reduces the power load on the portable computer battery in this mode.

CPU 26 also sets the system control memory registers in register block 66. State machine 64 bases operation on those register settings to obtain control words and PCM data automatically through the LPC interface 62. The control words in the system memory (RAM 30) are fetched into the internal registers, and the state machine 64 decodes the control words to determine if PCM or audio data is ready. If the audio data is ready, the state machine 64 continues to fetch the audio data and send it to the AC97 Codec 42. The control words in the system memory (RAM 30) can also be used to indicate the sampling frequency of the PCM data. So, the state machine 64 can set AC97 Codec 42 to the appropriate frequency before the PCM data is sent.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that a headphone or headset system may comprise further functionality than described hereinabove, e.g., a volume control, or the audio control buttons may be integrated thereto.

It should also be recognized that a special purpose circuit consistent with the invention may be integrated into a full-time compressed (and/or non-compressed) audio playing system capable of playing music regardless of the operation of the rest of the system. In this configuration, the special purpose circuit and mini-OS are provided, as well as a software driver for handling interrupts from the function buttons under Windows®. In this configuration, when the rest of the system is either fully on (S0) or in “sleep” (suspend to RAM or S3) mode, the system may be configured to begin execution of a custom or standard audio player, e.g., Music Match or Windows® Media Player, running under Windows®, which may be adapted to play the compressed audio files stored in the play list. In this scenario, the function buttons may be adapted for use in a passthrough-type mode using the accompanying software driver to control various features of the audio player software, e.g., Music Match, instead of controlling the special purpose circuit. When the primary operating system such as Windows® is either fully off (S5) or in “hibernate” (suspend to HDD or S4) mode, operation of the special purpose circuit may proceed to play compressed audio files from the play list as described hereinabove, wherein the function buttons control the special purpose circuit.

It is noted that the power states described above (i.e., fully on, sleep/suspend to RAM, fully off, hibernate/suspend to HDD) are often referred to using the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (“ACPI”) standard conventions, as follows: The typical operating system (e.g., Windows®) supports six system power states, referred to as S0 (fully on and operational) through S5 (power off). Each state is characterized by the following: power consumption, i.e. how much power the computer uses; software resumption, i.e., from what point the operating system restarts; hardware latency, i.e., how long it takes to return the computer to the working state; and system context, i.e. how much system context is retained, or whether the operating system must reboot to return to the working state. State S0 is the working state. States S1, S2, S3, and S4 are sleeping states, in which the computer appears off because of reduced power consumption but retains enough context to return to the working state without restarting the operating system. State S5 is the shutdown or off state. A system is waking when it is in transition from the shutdown state (S5) or any sleeping state (S1-S4) to the working state (S0), and it is going to sleep when it is in transition from the working state to any sleep state or the shutdown state. the system cannot enter one sleep state directly from another; it must always enter the working state before entering any sleep state. For example, a system cannot transition from state S2 to S4, nor from state S4 to S2. It must first return to S0, from which it can enter the next sleep state. Because a system in an intermediate sleep state has already lost some operating context, it must return to the working state to restore that context before it can make an additional state transition.

Referring now to FIG. 2, in conjunction with FIG. 3, an exemplary sequence 200 for the power up of the mini-OS and initiation of the player function, in one embodiment of the present invention, is illustrated. As stated above, at some time prior to the initiation of the audio player function of a PC equipped with the present invention, the user downloads (not shown in FIG. 2) the audio files of interest to the HDD 36 or burns a CD-ROM that is placed in the CD-ROM drive 38 for use with the audio player feature of the present invention. As shown, at step 201, the sequence 200 begins when the user presses either an audio player power switch 54 or the computer's main power switch (not shown in FIG. 3), to turn the system on. A determination is then made, at step 202, whether the computer is to boot in normal operation mode or compressed audio performance mode. This determination is typically made in the BIOS, based on whether the computer's power switch or an audio player power switch 54 was used to turn on the computer, although those skilled in the art will recognize that this determination could alternatively be made by an application program or an operating system that provides such capability (e.g. Windows® 98). If the computer's power switch was used to turn on the computer, then the system boots to normal operation mode, at step 203, and the normal operating system (e.g., Windows® 98) is loaded into system RAM 30 and executed. If an audio player power switch 54 was used to turn on the computer, the mini-OS is loaded into system RAM 30, at step 204. At step 205, the mini-OS initializes the system components including one or more of the North Bridge 28, South Bridge 32, special purpose circuit 40, hard drive 36, CD-ROM drive 38, codec 42, and CPU 26.

Since no audio decompression request will be pending upon system initialization (i.e., the memory buffer is not full), which determination is made at step 208, the system waits for input from one of the function keys 48, at step 207, until one of the function keys 48 is pressed, at which point the appropriate function is executed and the LCD display updated, as appropriate, at step 206. If the command includes a request from the user to play audio, an audio decompression request will be pending at this time, which determination is made at step 208. Since no compressed audio file(s) are in system memory 30 upon the initial request to play audio, which determination is made at step 209, the compressed audio file(s) are read from the HDD 36 and/or CD-ROM drive 38 and/or portable memory media 80 and loaded into system memory 30, at step 210. After the compressed audio files are loaded into system memory at step 210, or if the audio file(s) are already in system memory, which determination is made at step 209, the audio files are then decompressed, at step 211, using the system CPU 26. DMA transfer(s) to the codec 42 are initialized for the decompressed audio data, at step 212, and then the output signal from the Codec 42 is amplified (not shown in FIG. 2) by the amplifier 44 to drive the speakers and/or headset 46. After the DMA transfer(s) are initialized, at step 212, control loops back to step 208, to determine whether an audio decompression request is pending.

Playlist Software Operation

FIG. 5 is another generalized overall block diagram of an exemplary system 31 consistent with another embodiment of the present invention. In this exemplary embodiment, the system 31 includes portable memory media 80 that can be used to hold the playlist data and/or compressed file data. The memory media 80 can be SmartCard media, Memory Stick media, PCMCIA memory media and/or other portable media known in the art. If the system is ON and media is detected as being present at the portable memory media location (e.g., by insertion of a Smart Card, PCMCIA, CardBus card, Memory Stick or other media into an appropriate slot), the memory reader generates an interrupt to the South Bridge 32. The special purpose circuit 40 of this embodiment also receives the interrupt and generates a command to tell the operating system to launch an appropriate application (e.g., Windows Media Player) to read the playlist data on the memory device 80. In this instance, the application takes control to read the playlist file and retrieve the audio data, either from the memory device 80 or some other location specified in the playlist file. Similarly, when the mini-OS is operational, the special purpose circuit 40 is adapted to check if a memory device 80 is present, and to scan the device for playlist data. The system then operates as described above.

The playlist file, as described herein, is a generalized data file that is constructed by a user having a desired MP3 song sequence. The playlist file also includes disk path information to instruct the application as to where to locate the desired MP3 data. Certain operating systems permit users to change drive letters on-the-fly. Accordingly, the playlist software reads the volume serial number (VSN) given by the operating system to a particular drive. The serial number does not change (unless intentionally changed by reformatting the drive), and thus, the playlist software can track the playlist data regardless if the user reassigns a particular drive letter. This feature also works similarly with switchable devices such as disk drives.

It should be recognized by those skilled in the art that, although the above-described embodiments utilize a hardware-based OS selection (i.e., pressing main power button boots to Windows®, while pressing audio control button boots to mini-OS), other OS selection methods are contemplated, as well. Such selection methods include, e.g., using a batch file or other scripting or software-based method to shut down a first OS and boot to the second OS. Those skilled in the art will also recognize that the mini-OS of the present invention could conceivably be implemented as part of a larger OS (e.g., a GUI-based OS, such as Windows®, LINUX, etc.) or as a software component named something other than an “operating system”, (e.g., a “driver”, an “algorithm”, a “script”, “code”, a “program”, an “executable”, a “routine”, a “subroutine”, a “utility”, etc.), instead of being implemented as an entirely separate operating system. Such embodiments are contemplated to be within the scope of the present invention.

Software Operation

Turning to FIG. 6, a generalized block diagram of another exemplary computer system 600 consistent with the invention is illustrated. The computer system 600 is somewhat similar to the earlier described embodiments of FIGS. 3-5, except that the system 600 employs a purely software solution for operation of the system 600 in compressed audio mode instead of utilizing the special purpose circuit 40 (hardware) as previously described. As such, the software solution enables the system 600 to have all the functionality, including operation of a PC in compressed audio performance mode, of all the embodiments of the invention as previously described.

The computer system 600 includes all the conventional components detailed earlier with respect to FIGS. 3 and 5 and hence any repetitive description of those components and there operation is omitted herein for clarity. In addition to those earlier described components, the computer system 600 includes a conventional keyboard controller 604 adapted to interface with the audio control buttons 48, LCD 34, and the keyboard 606.

Operation of the computer system 600 in audio compressed mode is controlled by audio software adapted to be executed by a processor. As such, operation of such audio software requires the processor and a machine-readable medium. The processor, e.g., CPU 26, can be any type of processor capable of providing the speed and functionality required by embodiments of the invention. For example, the processor could be a processor from the Pentium® family of processors made by Intel Corporation.

The machine-readable media can be any type of media capable of storing instructions adapted to be executed by the processor. Some examples of such media include, but are not limited to, system RAM 30, read only memory (ROM), programmable ROM, magnetic disk (e.g., floppy disk and HDD 36), optical disk (e.g., CD/DVD ROM 38), and any other device that can store digital information. As used herein, the phrase “adapted to be executed by a processor” is meant to encompass instructions stored in compressed and/or encrypted format, as well as instructions that have to be compiled or installed by an installer before being executed by the processor. The processor and machine-readable medium may be part of a computer system 600 where various combinations of machine-readable media store combinations of the audio software which are accessible by the processor through various controllers.

The audio software provides all the functionality to load and operate the mini-OS and hence the PC system as previously detailed. Again, the mini-OS itself could be implemented as part of the larger OS or could be an “algorithm,” a “script”, a “code”, a “program”, a “routine” or a “subroutine.”

Operation of the computer system 600 is detailed below with reference to the exemplary sequence 200 of FIG. 2. As earlier detailed, at some time prior to the initiation of the audio player function of a PC equipped with the present invention, the user downloads (not shown in FIG. 2) the audio files of interest to the HDD 36 or burns a CD-ROM that is placed in the CD/DVD ROM drive 38 for use with the audio player feature of the present invention. As shown, at step 201, the sequence 200 begins when the user presses either an audio player power switch 54 or the computer's main power switch, to turn the system on. A determination is then made, at step 202, whether the computer is to boot in normal operation mode or compressed audio performance mode. This determination is typically made in the BIOS, based on whether the computer's power switch or an audio player power switch 54 was used to turn on the computer, although those skilled in the art will recognize that this determination could alternatively be made by an application program or an operating system that provides such capability (e.g. Windows® 98).

If normal PC operation mode is desired, the system boots to normal operation mode at step 203, and the normal OS, e.g., Windows® 98, is loaded into system RAM 30 and executed. Just as the special circuit 40 was bypassed in such a situation, audio software consistent with the invention is not responsive to a request to operate the PC in normal operation mode.

If compressed audio mode is desired, the audio software is enabled by one of a variety of enabling techniques. For instance, the audio player power switch 54 may be utilized or a software based selection technique may be utilized. Once the audio software is enabled, it instructs the system to load the mini-OS in system RAM 30 at step 204. Advantageously, the boot up time of the PC utilizing the mini-OS to boot up in a compressed audio mode is faster than the boot up time of the PC utilizing a traditional OS to boot up in normal PC mode. In this way, a user can quickly listen to a variety of audio files without waiting for the longer boot up time of the PC in normal PC mode.

Then at step 205, the mini-OS initializes the system 600 components including one or more of the North Bridge 28, South Bridge 32, hard drive 36, CD/DVD-ROM drive 38, codec 42, and CPU 26. In addition, the CPU 26 utilizes the audio software to control data flow to the Codec 42 and to perform the various power management functions earlier detailed.

Since no audio decompression request will be pending upon system initialization (i.e., the memory buffer is not full), which determination is made at step 208, the system waits for input from one of the function keys 48, at step 207, until one of the function keys 48 is activated. At this time, the appropriate function is executed and the LCD display 34 may be updated, as appropriate, at step 206. If the command includes a request from the user to play audio, an audio decompression request will be pending at this time, which determination is made at step 208.

Since no compressed audio file(s) are usually in system memory 30 upon the initial request to play audio, which determination is made at step 209, the compressed audio file(s) are read from the HDD 36 and/or the CD/DVD ROM drive 38 and/or the portable memory media 80 and loaded into system memory 30, at step 210. For instance, the compressed audio files could be on a CD or DVD as read by the CD/DVD ROM drive 38. After the compressed audio files are loaded into system memory at step 210, or if the audio file(s) are already in system memory, which determination is made at step 209, the audio files are then decompressed, at step 211, using the system CPU 26.

DMA transfer(s) to the codec 42 are initialized for the decompressed audio data, at step 212, and then the output signal from the Codec 42 is amplified (not shown in FIG. 2) by the amplifier 44 to drive the speakers and/or headset 46. After the DMA transfer(s) are initialized, at step 212, control loops back to step 208, to determine whether an audio decompression request is pending.

Although the present invention has been described in terms of the exemplary embodiments provided herein, it is to be understood that such disclosure is purely illustrative and is not to be interpreted as limiting. Consequently, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, various alterations, modifications, and/or alternative applications of the invention will, no doubt, be suggested to those skilled in the art after having read the preceding disclosure. Accordingly, it is intended that the following claims be interpreted as encompassing all alterations, modifications, or alternative applications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. 

1. A machine-readable medium whose contents cause a computer system to perform a method of playing audio files, said method comprising: providing compressed audio data to a processor of said computer system for decompressing said compressed audio data, thereby providing decompressed audio data; storing said decompressed audio data in a memory of said computer system; transferring said decompressed audio data from said processor to an output amplifier through a first transfer path through a circuit situated between said processor and said output amplifier if said computer system is operated by a first operating system; and transferring said decompressed audio data from said processor to said output amplifier through a second transfer path through said circuit that differs from said first transfer path if said computer system is operated by a second operating system, wherein on said second transfer path but not on said first transfer path, play of said decompressed audio data is controlled using user-actuated function keys that are coupled to said circuit.
 2. The machine-readable medium according to claim 1, wherein said processor is capable of operation in a first power state and a second power state, wherein said processor consumes less power in said first power state than in said second power state, and wherein said method further comprises placing said processor in said first power state from said second power state when said processor is not decompressing said compressed audio data.
 3. The machine-readable medium according to claim 2, wherein said first power state comprises a standby state.
 4. The machine-readable medium according to claim 1, wherein said method further comprises retrieving said decompressed audio data from said memory for playing.
 5. The machine-readable medium according to claim 1, wherein said compressed audio data is in a format selected from the group consisting of: MP3, WMA, AAC, and AC3.
 6. The machine-readable medium according to claim 1, wherein said method further comprises generating signals to an LCD display for displaying song data.
 7. The machine-readable medium according to claim 1, wherein said method further comprises receiving user commands generated by at least one of said function keys and utilizing said user commands to control said playing when said computer system is operated by said second operating system.
 8. The machine-readable medium according to claim 7, wherein said method further comprises receiving interrupts generated by at least one of said function keys and passing said interrupts to said processor.
 9. The machine-readable medium according to claim 1, wherein said steps of reading compressed audio data, providing said compressed audio data to said processor, and storing said decompressed audio data in said memory, are not performed unless a state of said computer system is selected from the group consisting of: off, hibernate mode, suspend to HDD mode, power state S4 and power state S5.
 10. The machine-readable medium according to claim 1, wherein said steps of reading compressed audio data, providing said compressed audio data to said processor, and storing said decompressed audio data in said memory, are not performed when a state of said computer system is selected from the group consisting of: on, sleep mode, suspend to RAM mode, power state S0 and power state S3.
 11. The machine-readable medium according to claim 8, wherein said steps of receiving interrupts generated by at least one of said plurality of function keys and passing said interrupts to said processor are not performed unless a state of said computer system is selected from the group consisting of: on, sleep mode, suspend to RAM mode, in power state S0 and in power state S3.
 12. The machine-readable medium according to claim 1, wherein said compressed audio data is stored in an audio file of said audio files, wherein said method further comprises creating and storing a play list comprising said audio file.
 13. The machine-readable medium according to claim 12, wherein said step of creating and storing said play list is only performed when a state of said computer system is selected from the group consisting of: on and power state S0.
 14. The machine-readable medium according to claim 13, wherein said method further comprises reading said compressed audio data based, at least in part, on said play list.
 15. The machine-readable medium according to claim 1, wherein reading said compressed audio data comprises reading said compressed audio data from a DVD.
 16. A personal computer (PC) adapted to function as a decompressed audio player, said PC comprising: a central processing unit (CPU) responsive to a control signal to load either a first operating system or a second operating system, wherein said first operating system is run by said PC in a first PC mode and said second operating system is run by said PC in a second compressed audio mode, wherein compressed audio data residing in at least one drive of said PC is decompressed by said CPU into decompressed audio data, and wherein said decompressed audio data is transferred from said CPU to an output amplifier through a first transfer path through a circuit situated between said CPU and said output amplifier if said PC operates in said first PC mode, and wherein said decompressed audio data is transferred from said CPU to said output amplifier through a second transfer path through said circuit if said PC operates in said second compressed audio mode, wherein on said second transfer path but not on said first transfer path, play of said decompressed audio data is controlled using user-actuated function keys that are coupled to said circuit.
 17. The PC of claim 16, wherein said PC consumes less power operating in said second compressed audio mode than operating in said first PC mode.
 18. A method of operating a personal computer (PC) in either a first personal computer (PC) mode or a second compressed audio performance mode comprising: initiating a control signal; loading either a first or second operating system based on said control signal, wherein said first operating system operates said PC in said first PC mode and said second operating system operates said PC in said second compressed audio performance mode; providing compressed audio data to a central processing unit (CPU) of said PC; decompressing said compressed audio data into decompressed audio data; transferring said decompressed audio data from said CPU to an output amplifier through a first transfer path through a circuit situated between said CPU and said output amplifier if said PC operates in said first PC mode; and transferring said decompressed audio data from said CPU to said output amplifier through a second transfer path through said circuit that differs from said first transfer path if said PC operates in said second compressed audio performance mode, wherein on said second transfer path but not on said first transfer path, play of said decompressed audio data is controlled using user-actuated function keys that are coupled to said circuit.
 19. The method of claim 18, further comprising: outputting said decompressed audio data to an audio output device when said PC is operating in said second audio compressed performance mode.
 20. The method of claim 18, wherein a second boot up time for loading said second operating system is less than a first boot up time for loading said first operating system.
 21. A machine-readable medium whose contents cause a computer system to perform a method of playing audio files, said method comprising: selecting compressed audio data by activation of at least one function key; reading said compressed audio data; providing said compressed audio data to a processor of said computer system for decompressing said compressed audio data, thereby providing decompressed audio data; storing said decompressed audio data in a memory coupled to said processor of said computer system; transferring said decompressed audio data from said processor to an output amplifier through a first transfer path through a circuit situated between said processor and said output amplifier if said computer system is operated by a first operating system; and transferring said decompressed audio data from said processor to said output amplifier through a second transfer path through said circuit that differs from said first transfer path if said computer system is operated by a second operating system, wherein on said second transfer path but not on said first transfer path, play of said decompressed audio data is controlled using user-actuated function keys that are coupled to said circuit.
 22. The machine-readable medium according to claim 21, wherein said method further comprises: displaying at least a file/directory name for said compressed audio data.
 23. The machine-readable medium of claim 22, wherein said file/directory name is displayed on an LCD screen.
 24. The machine-readable medium according to claim 21, wherein said compressed audio data is in a format selected from the group consisting of: MP3, WMA, AAC, and AC3.
 25. The machine-readable medium according to claim 21, wherein said method further comprises retrieving said decompressed audio data from said memory for playing.
 26. The machine-readable medium according to claim 21, wherein said compressed audio data resides in an audio file of said audio files and said selecting step comprises selecting said audio file, and wherein said method further comprises searching said audio file.
 27. A personal computer (PC) adapted to play audio files, said PC comprising: a system CPU; a memory coupled to said system CPU; and a machine-readable medium coupled to said system CPU and whose contents cause said PC to perform a method of playing said audio files, said method comprising: selecting compressed audio data by activation of at least one function key; reading said compressed audio data; providing said compressed audio data to said system CPU for decompressing said compressed audio data, thereby providing decompressed audio data; storing said decompressed audio data in said memory of said PC; transferring said decompressed audio data from said system CPU to an output amplifier through a first transfer path through a circuit situated between said system CPU and said output amplifier if said PC is operated by a first operating system; and transferring said decompressed audio data from said system CPU to said output amplifier through a second transfer path through said circuit that differs from said first transfer path if said PC is operated by a second operating system, wherein on said second transfer path but not on said first transfer path, play of said decompressed audio data is controlled using user-actuated function keys that are coupled to said circuit.
 28. The PC according to claim 27, wherein said method further comprises: displaying at least a file/directory name for said compressed audio data.
 29. The PC of claim 27, wherein said file/directory name is displayed on an LCD screen.
 30. The PC of claim 27, wherein said compressed audio data is in a format selected from the group consisting of: MP3, WMA, AAC, and AC3.
 31. The PC of claim 27, wherein said method further comprises retrieving said decompressed audio data from said memory for playing.
 32. The PC of claim 27, wherein said compressed audio data resides in an audio file of said audio files and said selecting step comprises selecting said audio file, and wherein said method further comprises searching said audio file. 